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Superb Swap: 2001 BMW 325xi Touring S54 6-speed

Superb Swap: 2001 BMW 325xi Touring S54 6-speed

Published March 19, 2019 by Carter

If I’m honest, neither the outrageous Passat W8 nor the overpriced A4 Avant from Sunday really thrilled in the same way as the 2.7T-swapped B6 Ultrasport build did. Granted, you could just about buy both the Audi and the Passat for the same price as that build, but if you’re going to take on a complicated older fast wagon, there must be some sort of reward for all the risk, right?

Well, not to be outdone, here’s a stellar BMW option. The standard 325xi Touring, while available with a 5-speed manual, isn’t nearly as exotic sounding or performing as the duo from the other day. The M54 2.5 liter inline-6 was about 100 horsepower down on the Passat W8 and they weighed pretty close to the same. BMW also chose to not equip any of the xi models with the M-Sport suspension, either. While the 3-series was substantially cheaper than either the A4 2.0T S-Line Titanium package or the Passat W8 4Motion, out of the box it also didn’t feel as special.

Of course, if you rip it apart and rebuild it with a S54 borrowed from a M3 and a 6-speed from a X3, the story changes a bit…

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 BMW 325xi Touring S54 6-speed Swap on Denver Craigslist

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Unicorn Fight! 2003 Volkswagen Passat W8 4Motion Variant 6-speed v. 2008 Audi A4 2.0T quattro Avant S-Line Titanium Package 6-speed

Unicorn Fight! 2003 Volkswagen Passat W8 4Motion Variant 6-speed v. 2008 Audi A4 2.0T quattro Avant S-Line Titanium Package 6-speed

Published March 17, 2019 by Carter

Fortunately for its seller but unfortunate if you actually were interested in it, the 2.7T-swapped Audi B6 A4 Ultrasport Avant ‘Unicorn Killer’ I wrote up a few weeks ago sold just before I went to press. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other interesting options out there, and I found two in direct competition (at least, ostensibly) with one another on my local Craigslist.

Here, we have two all-wheel drive wagons from VAG. Both are complicated. Both are reasonably quick. Both have mindbogglingly long names. Both have 6-speed manuals, both originally had MSRPs north of $40,000 and both, predictably, are quite rare to find. But while the mileage on the two is different, their asking prices are within a hundred dollars. So which would you take?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2003 Volkswagen Passat W8 4Motion Variant 6-speed on Providence Craigslist

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1995 Porsche 968 Coupe

1995 Porsche 968 Coupe

Published March 5, 2019 by Carter

The 968 occupies a strange space in the Porsche world. Limited in production, good looking, well-built and with good chassis dynamics and performance, it should have all of the hallmarks of a collector car in today’s market. Many prominent automobile publications have bashed you over the head with that, too – it’s not just me banging on here. Petrolicious posts an article (the same one, usually…) seemingly every week about the Porsche 968 Club Sport, Hemmings has repeatedly said it’s the best of the breed, and Hagerty told you to get on board last year and buy one. And when Bring a Trailer sold one in late 2017 at $36,250, it seemed 2018 was poised to be the year of exploding values on the 968.

But it wasn’t. Bring a Trailer has, so far to date, failed to present match to that one-off. It’s not for lack of trying – fifteen came up for sale on the site in 2018, yet none cleared $25,000, and most traded well below that. So here we are in 2019, wondering exactly where the values on these cars will head. But if today’s example is any indication, things could be interesting:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Porsche 968 Coupe on eBay

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Unicorn Killer: 2005 Audi A4 2.7T Avant Ultrasport 6-speed

Unicorn Killer: 2005 Audi A4 2.7T Avant Ultrasport 6-speed

Published February 28, 2019 by Carter

While it was certainly impressive to see the unique Aquamarine S4 Avant over the weekend, for nearly everyone it was a letdown. Many of the faults would be excusable were it not for the outrageous asking price – getting on for four times the market value of a decent “normal” S4 Avant. Of course, one of the great things traditionally about Audis is that the chassis flexibility means parts from a myriad of other models work across platforms. So, unhappy with the available options out there, why not build your own super Avant?

That’s exactly what folks at Black Canyon Performance did, taking an already desirable B6 A4 Avant Ultrasport 6-speed and turning the wick up substantially. The modifications range from installation of a B5-generation 2.7T V6 to a factory RS4 interior and a special Porsche color – 7A1 Gray Black borrowed from the 997 GT3 RS, but don’t end there. Welcome to the Unicorn Killer….or was it Killer Unicorn?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2005 Audi A4 2.7T Avant Ultrasport 6-speed on Denver Craigslist

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Paul’s Own Unicorn: Ex-Newman 2005 Audi S4 Avant in Aquamarine Blue Metallic

Paul’s Own Unicorn: Ex-Newman 2005 Audi S4 Avant in Aquamarine Blue Metallic

Published February 24, 2019 by Carter

Update 2/25/19: It appears this car’s exact connection to Paul Newman is quite a bit more loose than indicated by the seller. Thanks, Jason!

Lately I’ve had my eye on Audi B6 Avants as a potential replacement for my Passat down the road. The B6 carried on with Audi’s tradition of building a high-quality, all-weather capable and highly versatile package. While arguably not the prettiest products to come from Ingolstadt, the subdued styling of the B6 has grown on me over time – especially as they’ve become less prevalent with age and used B7s and B8s have flooded the market.

While I’ve been looking primarily at the 1.8T that’s both economical and familiar to me, there’s no denying the appeal of the S4. For short money you can grab a car which was effectively without peer; an all-wheel drive wagon with a 340 horsepower V8 coupled to a 6-speed manual wagon. They’re certainly not without their faults, but the cost of doing business in nearly 15 year old high-tech fast German cars is infrequently small.

Appreciation for these potent and unique packages has once again been growing. Recently, a custom supercharged Jet Blue Metallic ’08 sold on Bring a Trailer for $28,250 – indicating there’s a strong market for special examples. And today’s ’05 is quite special for two reasons – first, the special order Aquamarine Blue Metallic exterior, and second involves who ordered it – none other than Hollywood legend and motorsport enthusiast Paul Newman:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2005 Audi S4 Avant on eBay

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